Nightmare
by Cee-CeetheHedgie
Summary: Two shot about Bellemere's death anniversary.


"_Hold on to this lullaby,_

_Even when the music's gone,_

_Gone._

_Just close your eyes,_

_The sun is going down._

_You'll be alright,_

_No one can hurt you now_

_Come morning light,_

_Oh you and I'll be safe, and_

_Sound."_

_**(Taylor Swift, Safe and Sound)**_

**(A/N) A little fluffy One-shot, nothing too serious.**

"Bellemere-san?"

At the mention of her name, the troublemaker-turned-mother set down the basket full of ripe mikans on the damp grass and wiped the sweat off her forehead as she smiled down at her eldest daughter.

"What is it, Nojiko?"

The afore-mentioned little girl was looking up at her adoptive mother with a frown on her face. The sun bounced off her blue-lilac hair and reddened her cheeks with sunburn, making the grass stains and streaks of mud stand out against her skin even more. Bellemere had denied Nojiko's offer of help, but the little girl had insisted on aiding her guardian in any way she possibly could, in gratitude for rescuing her from a bleak existence.

At this moment in time, however, she seemed to be processing and tumbling thoughts over and over in her mind as she turned her gaze upon the ginger baby in the wicker basket at Bellemere's feet, right beside the one overflowing with fruits. The baby was peacefully sleeping under the sun's blinding rays, paying no mind to the sweltering heat that bathed the land in a sluggish fashion.

"Do you think… do babies have nightmares?"

Bellemere was taken aback by this random inquiry, not expecting such a question to come out of a little girl's mouth. They had only been living together for several months, but Bellemere felt as though she had both of her little girls' personalities figured out, despite them being so young. This had completely thrown her off; maybe she didn't know them as well as she thought.

"Hmm. Well, what do you think?"

"I don't know. Maybe they do, maybe they don't."

Bellemere threw her head back and laughed. Nojiko was still a typical kid.

"I think they're a bit too young to have nightmares, Nojiko. They probably just have dreamless sleeps."

"But you can never be too young to dream, so why shouldn't it apply to nightmares too?"

This stopped the former Marine in her tracks. She had never given the matter much thought before, as she never had any interest in men and so never considered children or what their habits were. Again, Nojiko had surprised her with yet another unexpected statement, demonstrating just how intelligent and observational she was for her age.

"Maybe they do have nightmares, Nojiko." There have been plenty of times when Nami, or any baby for that matter, has woken up fitfully from a gentle slumber. It usually calms down after a bottle or some attention, so that's what people assume the problem must have been. But what if the baby had actually had a nightmare, and found comfort in the fact that there was still someone around to look after them? It's not like anyone can remember their times as a baby, so no one can say otherwise, right?

Nojiko pouted at her mother, grumbling under her breath.

"That doesn't answer my question."

Bellemere simply laughed and ruffled Nojiko's hair, lifting the mikan basket with her other arm and resting it on her shoulder. She then lifted the wicker basket containing Nami with her free arm, and strolled casually towards the small house, beckoning Nojiko to follow her with a quick nod of her head.

"I guess we'll never know, eh, Nojiko?"

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"Sanji?"

"Hai, Senchou?"

"Does everyone get nightmares?"

The blonde haired cook paused in his task of chopping up vegetables for the gourmet soup that he was currently preparing for his beloved ladies on the Sunny-Go. Sighing, he set the knife he was using down and lifted a plastic lid to cover the utensil and the vegetables before turning around and leaning against the worktop.

"Why do you ask, Luffy?"

The rubber boy shifted in his seat, trying to get himself comfortable before he answered Sanji's question. Finally settling down, he shrugged his shoulders at the cook.

"Dunno. I was wanting Nami to play a game with me, but she was sleeping, and then-"

"WHAAAAT? IS MY BEAUTIFUL GODDESS HAVING A NIGHTMARE, REQUIRING THE AID OF ONE AS HUMBLE AS MYSELF TO COMFORT HER IN HER TIME OF NEED?"

"No," Luffy pouted, "she's fine. But I watched her sleep, and she scrunched her face up until I gave her my hat. She didn't wake up, but it got me thinking- why do we have nightmares, Sanji?"

Sanji grumbled under his breath, cursing his captain for comforting his mellorine before he got a chance to. Quickly reaching into his pocket, he plucked out a lighter and a box, and from that, a cigarette. The smoke trailed lazily from the cancer stick, calming Sanji's nerves before he personally throttled his captain. He really couldn't be bothered explaining how Luffy had wound up dead to his other crew members, and he especially couldn't be bothered with a fight with the idiot swordsman.

"Luffy, we have nightmares because we may have been thinking of a bad patch in our lives that day, or have been jumping to conclusions in desperate times. The mind works while we are sleeping, and from those memories, nightmares are created."

"Ah, so it's a mystery dream!"

"NO YOU IDIOT!"

Several minutes, kicks and bruises later, Sanji went back to cooking and Luffy was busy peeling himself from the floor. He set himself back at the table, and pouted at Sanji's back.

"I don't like nightmares…"

"No one does, Luffy."

"I don't like it when she has nightmares, either."

Sanji stopped what he was doing yet again, turning to Luffy in surprise and sympathy.

"You mean Nami, don't you?"

Luffy merely nodded, fixating his gaze on the wooden floor. Sanji sighed, knowing how he felt; everyone on the crew could tell when she had one, as she would be all fake smiles and hair-trigger temper the next day. It almost seemed as though she was trying hard to convince herself that everything was fine more than the crew. This behaviour had become more and more regular as of late, and Sanji could only guess what it was.

"She was mumbling that woman's name in her sleep again."

"That's only to be expected, Luffy. It's her mother's death anniversary soon."

Luffy kept staring at the floor, frowning at the memory of Nami crying and stabbing herself in the arm that kept popping into his head. He wanted to make her feel better, but he didn't know how. She kept assuring everyone that she was fine, but the Straw Hats knew otherwise.

"She has us, Sanji. We're her family too."

"Luffy, I know we are, but… Bellemere was her mother, her guide. We can't ever hope to replace that."

The raven haired boy said nothing in response, opting to pull his legs up to his chin and resting his arms on them. He just hoped that she would cheer up soon. He would do whatever it takes to see her smile again.

**Part 2 will be up soon!**


End file.
